Heretofore it was not possible to implement flexible pricing to adequately match demand to supply because there was not available a Network Infrastructure connected at the appliance level. The Internet, is but one example, of a Network which is connected to a sufficient number of homes and, more and more, to smart appliances.
Of the 1.7 billion homes in the world approximately 270 million or 16% currently have broadband Internet service. And some areas of the world are very highly penetrated by broadband. For example, in the United States nearly 60% of the homes have broadband and in Europe nearly 30%. These numbers are on the rise as evidenced by world-wide Cable Modem penetration growing from 21% from the third quarter of 2005 to the third quarter of 2006.
Wide-area wireless penetration is growing even faster. There is no stopping this trend. Much of our world, our laptops, PDAs and iPods are hooked up to the Internet, and before long our home appliances will be on the 'Net, too. However, although we take the Internet for granted today, it was only very recently in the history of energy supply that the Internet has become available and, even more recently, available to the power resource management market.
Regarding power resource management, a long standing problem arises from the fact that traditional fossil-fuelled electrical capacity operates less of the time, albeit quite efficiently. Those power sources are simply incapable of providing on demand power that draws more power than a baseline amount. They are slow to ramp up and typically are complex in operation.
On the other hand, other types of power sources, such as renewable electrical capacity, e.g., wind and solar power, can be more efficiently put to immediate use right when it becomes available. Typically, these power generators can be ramped up and on line relatively quickly and are not as complex to operate. Unfortunately, renewable energy resources are not available 24/7 like traditional fossil fuel resources are made to be.
Nonetheless, renewable energy sources that do not pump environmentally harmful emissions into the atmosphere are of high interest in these times of reports of melting polar caps and biblical scale weather disasters. Problematically, one cannot simply cause the sun to shine or the wind to blow. Hence, the world is caught in a damaging cycle of reliance on fossil fuel energy sources that contribute to global warming because only these sources are able to meet immediate large aggregate demand for power.
In addition to the problems of global warming and providing on demand power, there is a need for a system that protects the power supply infrastructure. The new millennium was supposed to herald in a new era of humanity and enlightenment, instead it was witness to continent wide blackouts due to mismanagement of power infrastructure and poor contingency planning
However, simply blocking off failed power grids may not be enough of a solution. As witnessed with the power failures of the American Northeast, subsequent power grids were insufficient to manage the surge in demand and too shut themselves down. One after the other, each power grid shut itself down in a domino like effect that crippled the entire eastern seaboard of the continental United States. All because of improper power resource management.
Rerouting power is not a sufficient answer alone. For example, rerouting power only affects the end of the supply chain and ignores any front end problems of power supply. It does nothing to eliminate the problem of a break in the supply of the fuel used in power generators. A power utility simply does not manage an oil pipeline break, for example, in its day to day operations.
Most solutions in the art are supply side oriented, since this side is easier to manipulate traditionally. More recently, solutions have experimented with demand side control to affect power supply issues. In the past, some have suggested curtailing peak demand, typically once per day. However, these suggestions only considered demand on an overall level. The instant solution seeks not to control either side, but to orchestrates both supply and demand, and vice versa.
Another problem of these older suggestions is that do not consider the effects on everyday people of modest means. For example, using the peak shifting technique, the entire market is shifted regardless of usage. For industry, this means a chance to save significant cost over the course of a year. However, those of modest means or budget would be discouraged to use appliances to, for example, take a hot shower or cook meals, even though adequate supply of power was available. In other words, the user of modest means or budget is unfairly dissuaded out of the market by larger energy consumers.
For another thing, none of the prior solutions consider demand in the aggregate on a per appliance type. By lumping demand as one large ball of wax, the solutions of yesterday were prejudicially skewed toward large demand users. By targeting appliances, on the other hand, the instant invention is able to pin point demand and match it to supply in the most accurate and methodical manner.
What is needed is a power control system that is able to meet fluctuations in the aggregate demand in real time and on demand. A system is needed that not only takes into account supply side or demand side, but orchestrates both supply and demand of power. Such a control system should put power generators to maximum efficiency and integrate renewable energy sources in order to reduce environmentally unfriendly emissions and stem the tide of global warming. It should also take into account the everyday needs of home users and target demand at the per appliance type level. In addition the preferred control system should serve to protect power infrastructure and reroute demand around failed grids and, for that matter, take into account breaks in fuel supply chains.